Pennsylvania State Nickname

Howard Chandler Christy's painting "Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States." George Washington (who presided over the Philadelphia convention) is standing on the dais. Other central figures: Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and James Madison (public domain image on Wikipedia). See All State Nicknames.

Pennsylvania's nickname is The Keystone State because it was the middle colony of the original 13 colonies and because Pennsylvania has held a key position in the economic, social, and political development of the United States. The state song of Pennsylvania also mentions the state nickname in the second verse: "Birthplace of a mighty nation, Keystone of the land." The word keystone is from architecture, it describes the central wedge-shaped stone in an arch which holds all the other stones in place: